Feds Push For Guilty Verdict In $50M BCI Fraud Trial

Law360, Chicago (February 28, 2012, 9:42 PM EST) -- A prosecutor urged Illinois jurors Tuesday to find BCI Aircraft Leasing Inc. and two top executives guilty of running a $50 million scheme that defrauded investors and lenders, but the defense fired back that the government failed to prove its case at trial.

The attorneys pushed competing accounts during closing arguments at the criminal trial of BCI, its founder and CEO Brian Hollnagel and its current managing director and one-time Chief Financial Officer Craig Papayanis, all staring down wire fraud charges tied to the alleged scheme....